Pests

: 02 July 2018; Hits: 6901

KALRO to introduce new camel drug to bolster productivity

Men work together to bleed a camel during a brucellosis study in Marsabit County. Photo: Nelson Mwangi Muriu.

Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) in partnership with African Union is set to unveil a new drug for camels to help increase productivity in the country and also improve livelihoods incomes in the Horn of Africa.

KALRO has already started a three-year research to find a drug for the traipanosomias disease to replace the current drug that has been in the market for the last 20 years. The research which will cost Sh70m is funded by the AU and will be done in North Western Somalia.

Eluid Kireger, KALRO Director said on last week that once the research is complete, the drug will replace the current drug, tryquin that has been in existence for the last 20 years.

"We are set to look at an integrated control of camel diseases that threaten livelihood and food security in the Horn of Africa," Kireger said during the project launch in Nairobi.

He blamed tryquin's ineffectiveness for the spread of surra, a camel trypanosomiasis disease that is a constraint to camel production.

Kireger said that the research will help contribute to development of pastoral communities through sustainable intensification of pastoral livelihoods.

She observed that camel production has been a significant livelihood means and an integral part of socio-cultural practices of pastoralist communities in Somalia and ecosystem in the Horn of Africa yet the disease causes high mortality, reduction in milk production and loss in body condition.

"Unlike other livestock species, camels are affected most by surra due to abundance of its unique vectors biting flies that lead to infection rate of 20-70 percent in camel herds with high mortality rates in untreated herds," she added.

According to Kireger, despite surra's socio economic significance in the Horn of Africa, the disease has previously received minimal and intermittent research and control attention by government and development agencies.

He said that researchers will study and communicate control methods to ameliorate the complex problem of surra in the Somali ecosystem.

"We plan to come up with evidence based integrated technologies and approaches that will optimize efficiency in camel production, minimize production losses and avoid geographical spreading of camel trypanosomiasis," said the scientist.

He said that the researchers will also build capacity of animal health workers in the region to better manage and control surra.

The research will also help benefit the regional countries by enhancing livestock production.

Once the disease is managed in the region, Kireger said, camel products will find market internationally.

"The reseach will help improve livelihoods and food security in the Horn of Africa by increasing trans-border trade in the region," he added.

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: 28 June 2018; Hits: 5596

Uganda livestock researchers using genetic materials from Kenya to develop ant tick vaccine

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A veterinary officer vaccinates cows in Kapteldon, Uasin Gishu County. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA.

Ugandan scientists from the National Agricultural Livestock Research Institute (NaLRI), in Eastern Uganda, are using genetic material obtained from International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, in their efforts to develop an ant tick vaccine to aid local livestock farmers.

This comes at a time African researchers in animal sciences are exploring the potential of biotechnology innovations in agriculture in breeding and disease resistance further using other initiatives that include growing bacteria in the laboratory to improve milk production in cows as well as use of GMO bacteria for improved yield from pigs.

“We have antigens which can be used to produce candidate vaccines for tick borne diseases affecting animals in the cattle corridor of Uganda. Once the vaccine is ready for use we shall export it to other African countries suffering the same challenge,” said Dr. Halid Kirunda, director of the Mbarara Zonal Agricultural Research and Development institute (MBAZARDI) in Western Uganda.

“This will not require any law for commercialization because application of biotechnology is being applied in the vaccine development process indirectly.”

And while there have been ethical concerns expressed regarding the use of gene editing and other new technologies with animals, Kirunda is not concerned as long as the research focuses on beneficial outcomes and is approved by scientific ethical reviews.

Some argue that new technologies already are making an impact on livestock productivity in developing nations with such argument made in a recent article by Dr. Andualem Tonamo of the department of Animal and Range Sciences at Madawalabu University in Ethiopia.

He pointed out that scientists in most African laboratories have been using embryo transfer in animal breeding. They are also using molecular DNA markers to improve breeding results. And in the arena of animal health, newer technologies are improving the ability to diagnose and treat diseases.

Tonamo expects these trends to grow in coming years, with the potential to greatly increase the value of continent’s livestock sector.

Molecular markers

Five African nations, Kenya, Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Togo, are engaged in the use of molecular makers in animal breeding, according to NaLRI.

Molecular marker information has not yet been widely integrated into breeding programs in developing countries, but marker-assisted selection can accelerate the rate of genetic progress by enhancing the accuracy of breeding programs. The benefits are greatest for traits with low heritability and which are unavailable before sexual maturity.

ILRI’s programs focus on the characterization of local poultry in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. Work also is underway on marker identification for beneficial traits, including trypanotolerance – which helps cattle survive in areas infested with tsetse flies.

Animal nutrition and health

In animal nutrition, biotechnology has been used to improve grass species such as elephant grass for improved nutrition through protection of protein, amino acids and use of enzymes to improve the availability of nutrients from feed and to reduce the wastage of the feed and fodder.

Also under development are diagnostic tests using biotechnology to identify disease-causing agents. These efforts include methods to help authorities identify the origin of an outbreak. This is particularly important for epidemic diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease in which pinpointing the source of the infection can significantly improve disease control.

Molecular diagnostic technologies that are either already in use or being tested in low-income regions include polymerase chain reaction (PCR), monoclonal antibodies and recombinant antigens. These efforts have been aided by the availability of reliable and affordable laboratory equipment provided by international organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

The FAO and the World Health Organization also have trained African scientists in molecular diagnostics in animal diseases. They’re deleting genes that determine the virulence of a pathogen, thus producing non-pathogens that can be used as live vaccines. This strategy has been used to develop vaccines against the herpes viruses that cause pseudorabies in pigs and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis in cattle.

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: 28 June 2018; Hits: 5015

Isiolo meat traders and livestock keepers affected due to Rift Valley fever outbreak

Slaughter houses and butcheries in Isiolo County have been closed for 14 days following an outbreak of Rift Valley fever disease.

The County department of livestock confirmed that samples of blood taken from animals in the area tested positive for the Rift Valley fever.

Isiolo County has 101,425 heads of cattle, 152,164 sheep, 166,549 goats and 9957 camels and falls in the arid and semi-arid land of Kenya where livestock is the main economic activity.

The disease has so far killed six people with 26 others hospitalized with the spread being the first one since the 2006/2007 season when 234 people were killed.

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vaccination cows

Vaccination in cows

Rift Valley fever affects cattle, sheep, goats and camels and is transmitted through contact with contaminated blood through slaughtering, butchering or veterinary procedures.

In livestock, the affected animals normally abort but there is a 100 per cent mortality rate in the young ones such as calves and lambs.

In human beings, the disease causes headaches, fever, muscle and joint pains and has a 50 per cent mortality rate in case of hemorrhagic fever form that leads to vomiting of blood and bleeding from the nose and gums.

To control it, affected animals are isolated from the rest and animals should not be slaughtered.

The number of cattle and calves slaughtered in abattoirs rose by 5.3 per cent from 2,460.2 thousand in 2016 to 2,590.0 thousand in 2017 according to the latest economic survey report released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

During the same period, the total number of goats and sheep slaughtered increased by 12 per cent to stand at 9,206.7 thousand. The number of pigs slaughtered increased for the third consecutive year, to 360.1 thousand in 2017.

The increase in the number of livestock slaughtered was attributable to the increased livestock off take occasioned by drought experienced during the period under review to cushion from losses.

The livestock sector contributes about 12 per cent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 40 per cent to the agricultural GDP and employs 50 per cent of agricultural labor force.

About 60 per cent of Kenya’s livestock herd is found in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), which constitute about 80% of the country. It is estimated that 10 million Kenyans living in the ASALs derive their livelihood largely from livestock. Livestock play important roles in Kenya’s socio-economic development and contribute towards household food and nutritional security.

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